YEREVAN. – The Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan on Monday granted the defense’s motion to lift the measure of restraint that was selected against the defendant Arsen Babayan, former Deputy Chief of Staff of the National Assembly of Armenia.

Earlier, Babayan's lawyer Yervand Varosyan had argued that there was no need to select any precautionary measure against his client and that there was no risk of his obstructing the case or hiding.

But the prosecution had objected to this motion and asked the court to deny it on the grounds that it was unfounded.

According to the indictment, Arsen Babayan, as acting Deputy Chief of Staff of the NA on March 5, 2018, had assisted then-NA speaker Ara Babloyan and several other officials in abusing their official powers, which negligently caused grave consequences, and committed official fraud.

Arsen Babayan has been charged.